Little Love Book Club: The Missing Girl

Happy Book club day!

Yes, it is that time of the month when I discuss the latest read of the book club. This month we read The Missing Girl by Jenny Quintana.

Staying on the theme of a thriller/ crime novel, it was my turn to choose the book, and from a recommendation of a very lovely Waterstones employee I decided to try out the missing girl. The book follows Anna on her return to her home town, after the death of her mother. Anna avoids being in her home town as much as she can, due to the upsetting past in her family and something Anna has tried to avoid since she left. You see, when Anna was just a child, her older sister Gabriella disappeared.

The missing girl explores beautifully, what happened leading up to and after the disappearance of Gabriella, as well as seeing Anna as an adult slowly accepting the fact that she must finally find out the truth about what happened, and no longer try to forget the trauma of her past. I really enjoyed this book, though at times, as a reader I found myself getting a little impatient with Anna and finding out the truth. I felt as though the current day Anna plot was drawn out a little too long, and we only really get more of a gripping story and the answers quite late on. That being said, I really loved the way the book jumped from 1982, the year Gabriella disappeared to the modern-day Anna. As the book continued, each chapter left a cliffhanger that had me itching to find out more. I love how Jenny explores the different ways people cope with tragedy. Coupled with the mystery of what happened, we also learn of family secrets, not just for Anna’s family but other families involved in the plot. Beyond the mystery, I felt quite sad after reading this book, not only for Anna’s family in the aftermath of the disappearance, but for how she is almost forgotten in the absence of her sister. You not only feel sympathetic towards Anna but her mother, father and Gabriella’s friends too. Her father in particular broke my heart.

This is a book I would really recommend, it’s a quick read and does become a page turner by the end. Whilst it may not leave you feeling joyful when it’s finished, you most definitely feel like you have taken an emotional journey just as Anna does.